Courtesy: Princeton Crew/Tom Nowak The Princeton second varsity earned bronze at the EARC Championships.

Princeton continued to show great consistency in its heavyweight rowing program by reaching all four grand finals Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond during the 2012 EARC Championships.

The varsity eight had to outperform its seed just to qualify for the grand final, and it made up even greater ground in that final. The seventh-seeded Tigers knocked off sixth-seeded Northeastern in the morning heat, and then topped both Navy and Syracuse to grab fourth in the grand final.

A pair of Top 3 national programs battled it out for the gold, and it turned into a terrific sprint. Second-ranked and reigning champion Harvard beat bronze medalist Wisconsin by nearly 10 seconds, but it was third-ranked Brown that ended up winning the title. Brown won gold in 5:49.61, which was three-tenths of a second faster than Harvard.

Princeton finished in 6:02.10, about 2.5 seconds behind the Badgers for bronze.

Princeton did earn bronze in the second varsity by topping Brown for the second time in three weeks. Wisconsin edged Harvard by less than one second to win gold, while Princeton finished in 6:00.20 to finish third. The Tigers topped Brown by .56 of a second to reach the medal stand.

The freshman eight also reached the grand final, and it placed fifth in 6:16.57. Harvard topped Northeastern for the win, while Cornell topped Brown for the final spot on the medal stand. The third varsity eight also took fifth (6:23.86), though the margin behind fourth-place Navy was less than one-tenth of a second.

Princeton took fourth in the Rowe Cup team race with 29 points, only one point behind Wisconsin. Harvard topped Brown for the team title.

Varsity Eight
1) Brown 5:49.61
2) Harvard 5:49.91
3) Wisconsin 5:59.69
4) Princeton 6:02.10
5) Navy 6:03.68
6) Syracuse 6:03.92

Second Varsity Eight
1) Wisconsin 5:57.21
2) Harvard 5:57.85
3) Princeton 6:00.20
4) Brown 6:00.76
5) Navy 6:06.21
6) Cornell 6:08.39

Freshman Eight
1) Harvard 6:02.62
2) Northeastern 6:04.80
3) Cornell 6:07.15
4) Brown 6:10.11
5) Princeton 6:16.57
6) Navy 6:17.75

Third Varsity Eight
1) Brown 6:11.10
2) Wisconsin 6:14.72
3) Harvard 6:14.86
4) Navy 6:23.83
5) Princeton 6:23.86
6) Cornell 6:32.53

Rowe Cup
1) Harvard 37
2) Brown 34
3) Wisconsin 30
4) Princeton 29
5) Navy 25